And is it a good idea? I owe money to a credit card, a bank, tons of medical bills, and student loans (although if I remember correctly, student loans aren’t forgiven through bankruptcy). I probably have 30K-40K in debt altogether—most of which being the medical bills. I’m 22, would bankruptcy be a good option? And how would I do it? How much would it cost? How long would it take to fix my credit thereafter?
When I turned 18 I made the huge mistake of applying for every credit card anyone would ever give me. Now I am 22 and have a boat load of debt including judgements, collections, student loans, car loans, pay day loans, etc. Totalling 40,000.00 plus!!!! I want to know if bankruptcy would be good route for me as my credit is already poor. Can it make it any worse?
It’s an empty threat though because I’m not going to file really.
I’m trying to negotiate a ,300 debt for 0 – 00. I want to threaten bankruptcy as leverage but is this a good decision? This would be my line: "I am familiar with the law and know that I am ‘judgement proof’. If I file for bankruptcy I will claim all property as exempt, and if you sue and obtain a judgement you could not collect any of my property to satisfy the judgement."
Will this help? Can it hurt? Any other tips? Is there anything else I can use as leverage?
Here’s some background info: I’m not dealing with collection agencies so it hasn’t gotten too out of hand. I have about K in debt (K student loans, K credit cards). I’m working at part time jobs right now but when I do find work I’ll be making -K a year entry level in my field.
Thanks!
I am very nervous about what can happen to my home. I am waiting for a closing date as my parents gave me money to purchase a modest home. I am married and my husband and I need to file bankruptcy. We lost our home to forclosure a few years ago, lost our vehicles and had some credit cards. My parents want to see me enjoy part of my my inheritance now and I also have health issues that allow me to only work part time. I know I need to contact an attourney but I dont have the money for that yet. We are still renting but will be closing within the next 2 weeks. What should we do when we file? Again, the home will be only in my name which I am not sure if this will help or not. My husband has some personal credit issues and I as well. But, most of our issues are together. We believe we should file a chapter 13. He is a school teacher and I am a part time self employed music teacher. He also owes a lot of money on student loans from getting his Bachelors degree. I am 51 years old, am very grateful to my parents yet very nervous about losing my home. Thank you !
My parents do not want the home in their name as they do not want to pay Insurance and taxes among other reasons. I have heard of many people owning homes and filing chapter 13. If this is the answer do you think we need to do it soon so the courts do see that we are trying to resolve the issue after recieving this gift? They will also see that our hardship and loss was due to my husband being in the mortgage industry and my health issues.
Thank you for your answers. Here is my second question to my second answer.
We had put down a chunk of money for escrow. We were to close a few weeks ago until Fannie Mae said that they need go over the homes forclosure papers. Something was not done exact. I and Fannie Mae signed an extension. Can I back out of the deal and do the bankruptcy then look again for a home again? Or, will I lose the escrow money which my dad would kill me for that. That is my concern now?
Omg… yes they paid cash…. And, yes it is in my name only.
My boyfriend is in a lot of debt currently, with medical bills, student loans, and an ex wife who is getting 50% of his checks due to alimony. Needless to say this is very difficult for us financially. What exactly are the rules are bankruptcy and how do you go about file-ling? Would bankruptcy make any of this go away. Mostly the ex wife alimony? How would bankruptcy effect that?
My wife is filing for bankruptcy and one of our creditor’s is Kay Jewelers. We bought our wedding rings through them back in 2008. We received a letter in the mail today saying that they may have a non-dischargeability cause of action against us if we don’t turn our rings over, which we really don’t want to have to do. I know that it seems like the sensible thing to do and we can’t really afford to pay off the debt. Is there any alternative to giving the rings back or paying the debt?
Thank you all for answering so quickly. First, I am not on any of her loans/ debts so it wasn’t really advisable that I file as well. The only thing I have in my name is my student loans and our car (which the person who helped us file our paperwork said we wouldn’t need to worry about since the title is in my name). With that said, while we were filling out our paperwork, there is a section that you get to put items that you would like to have exempt from the bankruptcy i.e. jewelry, clothes, electonics… and you’re allowed up to a certain value for each item. Our rings fell way below the limit so we were told that we could keep them. Lastly, and unfortunately, it was a secured loan so they are saying that the rings are collateral and they have the right to either take them back or have us pay it back.
What is the best type of attorney to contact about student loan debt? Bankruptcy lawyers seem to cringe/avoid this because student loans are currently exempt from bankruptcy.
Is there any in the US that take this stuff serious and can help broke former students?
I mean there has to be some attorneys that now have experience in these matters since the economy is now becoming flooded with unemployed new attorneys.
So When I was 17-18 I went to college and had to get student loans.. & I am now 21 years old pregnant (38 Weeks) and sick of the interest piling up.. I don’t have a job because of the pregnancy and it seems like even when I was making payments that the more payments I made.. the more interest they tacked on!.. I am now 12,000$ in debt… Would it be smart to file or what should I do? Im totally clueless to any of this.. So any advice would be really great!
I own a home in which I am willing giving up due to my circumstances. I became deaf. Since then, I have been unable to find a job. I have been living off of unemployment which is not enough to pay my mortgage. When I tried to send partial payments, they returned my payments. I was given a forbearance but that did not waive the amount I was behind which is over 12 months now. My unemployment is running out and though I am capable to continue to work in my field with reasonable accommodations, or even outside my field, I am not getting any job offers.
I have 20K to use towards prepayment for rent, food, etc, for a little while….to help by more time for me to search and find a job.
I have a few credit cards, one is up to date on the payments, several medical bills, student loans, unemployment payments that I need to repay in a different state, about 00. Back when my credit was good, I was a victim of identity theft which is why internet accounts, credit cards and wireless phone accounts were opened in my name. I tried disputing the items that were not mine but only 1 thing was removed.
Will Chapter 7 Bankruptcy help me? Will they try to take the little money that I have to live off of. I also have 3 paid off vehicles.
I AM NOT YELLING. JUST WANT TO MAKE THIS MORE CLEAR FOR ALL TO READ. I DO NOT HAVE A JOB, I DO NOT HAVE MONEY TO MAKE MONTHLY PAYMENTS ON ANYTHING RIGHT NOW SO CONSOLIDATION IS OUT THE QUESTION. GETTING SIDE LOANS IS OUT THE QUESTION. NO NEED TO SUGGEST SUCH. THANKS.
My ex-husband went to Auto Finance School while we were married. He was trying to better his opportunities to make more income (didn’t work).He had horrible credit so when he applied for a student loan, he was required to get a co-signer…me!
So since the divorce I filed bankruptcy and included this loan because it turns out it was a private loan that was issued by Sallie Mae. From what I have heard MOST student loans are not dischargable unless you can confirm that the loan was for a non accredited school…I am willing to fight this but I need to know what I am up against. I do not believe this school was accredited. For those who are going to say I shouldnt have co-signed, please save your time…I know the how a contract is enforced. I am a single mom that should not have to carry the burden of his failed responsibly. I handled the financial diaster from my divorce by filing bankruptcy and getting my debt discharged. I am asking if I am correct in fighting the loan based on the accreditation. I am looking for someone who knows bankruptcy law to answer on this subject. Thanks!
I am 90% sure this school is not accredited but I’m not going to take Sallie Mae’s word for it….how to I confirm a school’s accreditation?
Back in June I was terminated from my job due to my epilepsy, I hold nothing against the company as they did all that they could with an ADA accomodation, however my seizures caused me to miss to much work. I ended up getting approved for disability, being considered permanently disabled and now make 950 dollars a month, which is my only income. The loss of income forced me to drop out of college and now I have 70,000 in student loan debt coming due. I have been getting constantly contacted by different collectors and attorneys regarding many of my debts, 3 credit cards, totaling about 1,000 dollars, my pickup was repossessed in June and they are trying to collect the final 1500 dollars that they could not get from selling it, which is now being handled by an attorney threatening litigation. I also owe on a large number of medical bills, 6,000 owed for a balance with snap on tools, which the toolbox was stolen so I cannot return it, and many old debts that are beyond the states statute.
The only asset I have is my motorcycle worth 5,000 dollars as I have lost everything else and rent my home. Basically when comparing all of my liabilities to my income and my assets, I am insolvent and from what I have been able to find out basically "judgement proof"
I cannot decide if I should file for bankruptcy to try to get a fresh start since there is no way I will ever be able to get these debts paid down. I do know that there is the possibility of my student loans being discharged due to disability. I don’t really want to file but I am starting to think that either I will have to, or just keep putting up with many of the phone calls and send cease and decist letters to the ones beyond statutes. Does anyone have any suggestions on this?
I have already spoken with Sallie Mae in regards to my student loan debts, and they did advise me that I am in the rare circumstance where the loans can be forgiven.
As far as the motorcycle goes, it is my life, although I do not drive currently, as i know better, I don’t need to put other people at risk or myself, but the motorcycle is the one thing I refuse to get rid of, as it took me a long time to be able to purchase it, and it is more important to me than anything, including my own life. This may sound crazy, but my motorcycle got me through alot of times when I was depressed. Even my therapist and my doctors all say not to get rid of it since it is all that I have. As far as my debts do go, not including the student loans I am sure that I have over a total of 0,000 in debt as I had to have brain surgery 2 years ago and still owe for that along with a large number of epilepsy specialist visits. I have spoken with an attorney in the past and they have said I do have enough
As far as student loans being bankruptcy proof, I am well aware that they are in most circumstances, but there are circumstances such as being totally and permanently disabled, which by their definition means for a period of 60 consecutive months. I am certain that I will not be working for that long as we have had no luck in controlling my epilepsy so far. Many of the legalities on that I am aware of as I was majoring in accounting, and was only a couple of classes shy of graduating when I was forced to quit
Yes, that is correct, I am sorry my wording was off on that, while bankruptcy itself does not get rid of them, certain circumstances do permit the discharge of them, such as total and permanent disability. i have spoken with them and they are currently on deferment for hardship while everything goes through. It isn’t actually the bankruptcy itself that gets rid of them, but filing for discharge. I would definitely prefer to pay them off however, but with the cost of my medication each month actually being double what I receive in income and with medicaid refusing to cover them due to stating that they are not a preferred medication and refuse it even with requests from an epileptologist, I have no choice but to pay for them out of pocket until I can get approved for patient assistance. I am also in the process of working with vocational rehab to try to get me through school so that I can get a desk job as I am so limited on work that the only ones that I am able to do physically ar
I mean it undoes the entire point of shopping around and selecting a particular lender. The first time this happened to me was when I had to chose a bank for my student loans and then I was notified 3 months later that the debt was sold. Since then I’ve come to realize that this is standard practice.
Before you leap to the defense of financial institutions think about this: companies that originated home loans (with very poor standards of verification) then sold those loans to other companies so they didn’t have to be the ones waiting to collect the debt were what sent the economy into its latest collapse.
Really, think how odd it would be if consumers could sell their obligations to someone else (for .50 on the ) and then after buying hundreds of obligations and living high on the hog that person could go bankrupt taking out hundreds of debts with him.
My most important concern though is there is no point in shopping around for and making a contract with a particular lender, since they can sell it at anytime. I’m interested in hearing your thoughts, if I had the power I would limit this ability.
Dear Sir Jam, you are factually incorrect. First, this question has nothing to do with delinquent accounts, this says a lot more about you and your issues. Second, debts are sold frequently, in fact almost all home loans are originated by one lender and then resold instantly to another (note paragraph two). Some people are unaware how often their debts are sold because sometimes their payments are handled by a debt servicing company, the one that sends you those little payment books, but they can work for a series of lenders with your one debt. I find it worth while to talk philosophically about our financial system because we have law makers who can change it if enough people ask.
My student loans are through NelNet and I received a letter from NelNet instructing me to stop making payments. The reason they give is that my student loan account has been paid by a claim and now has a zero balance. I have had student loans since 1995; but I also have filed bankruptcy. What does all this mean? What claim paid my loans off? Did I or someone else get sued for the money?
My student loans are through NelNet and I received a letter from NelNet instructing me to stop making payments. The reason they give is that my student loan account has been paid by a claim and now has a zero balance. I have had student loans since 1995; but I also have filed bankruptcy. What does all this mean? What claim paid my loans off? Did I or someone else get sued for the money?
Here’s my situation. I graduated from college in December 05 and believe it or not, I have not found a full time, good paying job yet. Yeah, I believe I just wasted money and energy on nothing.
Anyways, I’m working a part time job and make approx 0 a month. I have ,000 in credit card debt, most of which I’m still paying from when I was in college 3 years ago (books, food, so on) I have ,000 in student loans, ,000 in medical bills, and it seems everytime i make a payment, it goes to waste because the interests keep rising. I even pay more than the minimum payment. If a credit card is lets say minimum, I will pay about 5, but it’s still not good enough cause the interests will raise that back.
I can’t keep going like this. My credit score is crappy so I can’t get a consolidation loan to pay all of it all.
Would I be able to file for bankruptcy? I have tried everything to get out of debts. I don’t charge anything to my credit cards any longer, but it is still that bad.
What should I do?
Im 22 years old and already have some strikes against my credit including in coming and climbing student loans when i asked about my credit to people older than me they said i really dnt have any but i HAVE NUMEROUS CREDIT CARDS in default an in collection and a couple of medical bills all together i probably owe a good 20,000 dollars but this is not going to wipe out any time soon because of my lack of income and im in school. So any suggestions.
I just lost both of my cars that I was paying a total of 1/mo. on. My wife is going to be quitting her job because of childcare issues, tension levels in the family, and all the stress that’s been building up from playing "tagteam" with watching the kids over the past 2 months. I get at least 15 calls a day from credit card companies asking where their money is. I incorrectly filed my taxes in 2005 (filed a Schedule K-1 online with Liberty Tax, and apparently I was missing a Schedule E form), so now I have a tax debt of almost ,000. I will be making just enough money to pay my mortgage, utilities, food, and gas for commuting to and from work (70 miles a day). I am behind on every credit card I have, a Home Depot Consumer Loan, student loans, medical bills, everything. I also live in a suburb of Austin, TX in case anyone was wondering. I don’t know the bankruptcy laws well enough in Texas, and I need major help. Should we file for bakruptcy, and if should which kind of bankruptcy?
I believe most people are thinking that I’m a big spender, but I’m actually more of a tightwad. I don’t buy latte’s at all or have any weekly or daily habits with spending money on food, my wife cannot work due to the fact that everything she makes goes towards paying for childcare, and even still we’re short. I am a general manager of a restaurant, on salary, and I cannot get another job because I have to have open availability. I lived on credit cards and did things like paying my water and electric bills with them, not going out and buying a big screen tv or anything of that sort. Like I said,I am relatively frugal, it’s just childcare mostly that screwed me and now I’m up to my ears in debt because of the decision for my wife to stay at work.
I cosigned on some student loans when I was dating someone. We’re no longer together and she doesn’t want to refinance yet (she’s still in school and doesn’t have a replacement cosigner). I’m worried that when they are no longer deferred, she will fall behind and go the bankruptcy route. Could it negatively impact my credit? Or… If I pay them, can I take legal action against her to repay me?
I have a private student loan that i defaulted on when I got sick and when I tried to make payments i was told it was charged off. That’s when MRS Associates contacted me DEMANDING payment in full (93,000.00) I told them I clearly couldnt afford that and they offered to settle for something like 50k. I only make 40k a year and clearly do not have the kind of money around. My grandparents are my cosigners and I’m so terrified they will sue them. I’ve begged and pleaded for a payment plan but they refuse. My grandparents have their house in my mother’s name and they don’t own anything other than a car, but I fear for their savings and the whatnot if this does go to court. I’m trying to obviously avoid court at all costs. I know I cannot file bankruptcy, i know i should have paid the loans, i know all of the things that many people post on other questions–like i said i was hospitalized for a few months and never got a handle on my bills after that. If anyone has some advice as to what I should/could do to prevent my grandparents getting sued I’d be so grateful. Thank you and I appreciate your help.
Hey Lari, you get cancer and tell me how you deal with it. How about that? I’m sorry I don’t make 100k that affords my medical bills in addition to my student loans. I pity whoever has the dire unfortune to associate with you.
I owe about 50K in debt, but 27K is student loans, 3K to my parents and less than 2K is taxes. meaning I would be file on about 18K. But I moved back at home. So when I get asked what my address is, I have to give the address of my parents house – which they own. I live in New York state and I work a part-time job making .50 an hour. And trust me, I have been looking for something better.
Are my parents at any risk of losing their home if I file bankruptcy???